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About the event
Are you the parent/carer of a child who is neurodivergent or suspect that your child may be? Are you looking for a better understanding of how neurodiversity affects children and families? Look no further!
Neurodiversity is a beautiful concept and reality. However as parents and carers we often have to deal with a beast of a process to get our children the support they need and deserve.
Providing our children a platform to be their best selves as early as possible will give them the greatest chance of succeeding.
In this session parents will share their experiences with you and open up to questions so that you can gain as much insight as possible from those who have walked the path you'll need to follow.
We will explore topics such as:
Being inclusive of neurodiverse children
Understanding potential challenges and barriers in education
Diagnosis and navigating the healthcare system
Talking to teachers and clinicians
Why neurodiverse parenting maybe different
Acceptance and advocacy
This will be an interactive and engaging session.
Please note that our events are not being recorded, to encourage our participants to speak openly about their personal stories and experiences.
Theo Smith | Event Chair
Neurodiversity Evangelist
Theo Smith is a social impact entrepreneur and leading Neurodiversity advocate. Smith promotes 'Neurodiversity by Design' rather than neurodiversity by accident and points to companies from IBM to EY to Microsoft who now see neurodivergent talent as a key element to their success. His book, Neurodiversity at Work won Business Book Awards 2022. Theo is a passionate speaker, author, and podcaster, bringing a unique voice to an emerging area of DE&I strategy.
Melanie Francis
Founder, Neuroinclusive HR
Mel is Mum to a brilliant neurodivergent son and, following his diagnosis, she sought to increase her awareness and knowledge of neurodiverse conditions. As a neurodiversity champion, Mel now takes every opportunity to increase awareness and appreciation of the brilliance of neurodiverse talent and supports organisations to become neuroinclusive throughout the employee lifecycle. She is a regular guest speaker, trainer and podcast contributor and her regular content shares on LinkedIn are well received.
Suzan Issa
Founder of Raising A Wild Child
I am Suzan Issa, I am based in the UK, and one of the wild children, diagnosed at 40 as Autistic with a heavy sprinkling of PDA and hefty dose of ADHD to complete the potion. School stopped being an option for me at 11, I was angry and afraid, but most of all, utterly exhausted by it. Self taught and wandering through the next 30 years, I became a teacher, specialist headteacher, SENCO … but just like 11 year old me; I always felt like I was on the wrong side of the argument, I just didn’t quite fit in… until one day, once again, being in school was no longer possible for me. I now work alongside families to navigate the journey of discovering and understanding their child’s neurotype… finding ways together to ensure that every member of the network around the child feels understood and empowered to create a harmonious home.
Gary Grange
Social Impact Consultant
Ex Head of Community Investment for Royal Mail Group raising over £110m for charities and good causes. Now a Social Impact consultant and working with the neurodiversity charity the ADHD Foundation. Parent of a neurodivergent son who was excluded from school but who has since made a success of his life.
I am passionate about diversity and inclusion and finding lifespan solutions for young neurodivergent people to ensure they achieve their undoubted potential. I don’t want other young people to suffer as my son had to due to a lack of support and understanding.
Richard Ferriman
Executive Partner IBM, Neurodiversity/ADHD Champion, Diversity & Inclusion IBM BRG Member
Executive Partner IBM - Distribution Industries Sector Leader (Salesforce), Young Person’s Coach & Mentor, Neurodiversity/ADHD Champion - Inclusion in Top 80 ND Evangelists UK, lead IBM Diversity & Inclusion Ally, Public Speaker on ADHD & Social Entrepreneur.
Diagnosed ADHD at 48, three sons who are ADHD and one of them is a cancer survivor, ASD, Toureetts, SP, Trauma based behaviour issues, PTSD, Dyslexic and perfect!
Kirsty Rogers
Global Head of ESG at DWF, Managing Partner of DWF Manchester Office
Kirsty is the Global Head of ESG, Office Managing Partner for DWF’s largest office in Manchester and is additionally the gender lead on DWF’s Diversity Committee. As an employment practitioner with a focus on engagement, diversity and inclusion, she is highly recommended for her client focused approach to the delivery of legal services and coordinated legal solutions.
Kirsty was shortlisted at the ENEI awards in 2018 as a leader on diversity and change
within the organisation, promoting diversity, agile working and health and well-being. She was also recognised for her leadership in Neurodiversity by the ADHD Foundation in 2019.